London

[Alex50]

I’ve just been to London, oxford street shopping with my daughter, it was quite an eye opener, I hardly saw anyone under 40, not one single fat person and hardly anyone with noticeable disabilities. It was like only the fit and young were allowed out. Sometimes I feel like I’m living in a film.

I work on Oxford Street and can assure you that is not the case generally, plenty of diversity day to day.

That's cos Oxford Street is shit, only tourists go there

I'm fairly fat (2 babies, 2 sections and a lot of ice cream in lockdown!) and I'd go to London/anywhere I wanted really!

I'll be there on Thursday with my 10 year old daughter. I'm 49 and have put a lot of weight on this year

It was like only the fit and young were allowed out.

Everyone is allowed out.

This is a slightly odd thread....Oxford Street would not be my first choice of shopping destination but I’m surprised that everyone at Topshop was over 40.

That's cos Oxford Street is shit, only tourists go there
🤣

I think the op must mean that everyone was under 40 not over.

Eh?
Is this a stealth boast or summat?
That you're not a middle aged lardy like most of us?

No I am and 50 😂 I felt the odd one out, that’s why I noticed so much.

Yes sorry I meant hardly anyone over 40.

Surely it's not really hard to understand why. The vulnerable are tending to keep away from busy places to help avoiding catching covid. That's partly why infection rates, hospitalisations and covid deaths are so low.

The "young and fit" seem to be back to normal life, the vulnerable are only doing what they really have to do.

Going shopping in central London, with the risk of having to travel on busy underground/buses, not knowing how busy the shops will be, etc etc., is going to be very worrying to vulnerable people. It's the fear of the unknown. By the time you find out that the tubes are packed or the shops are heaving, it's too late to retreat home again.

Very different to people who "dip their toe" into local shopping centres, local town centres, etc., which are mostly for necessities.

I’d say it’s a fair bet that a lot of people are working today so no chance of a shopping trip even if they wanted to rather than they’re deliberately staying indoors.

Oxford St is pretty much always like that, with some older Middle Easterners here for the cool summer thrown into the mix.

Well I’m 50 and I wouldn’t be on Oxford Street. I would do Regent Street but when I went to Liberty a couple of weeks ago they didn’t have their toilets open. I seriously can’t do an afternoon shopping trip without a loo break so I shall be avoiding for a while.

Londoners are thinner than a lot of the rest of the population to be fair

True of many big/capital cities.

Strange. I live in London and was out in central London today - Oxford Street, Piccadilly Circus and saw a couple of men with clear MH issues and people of every shape and size. It wasn't as busy as usual that I will say.

Oxford Street is more for teenagers and twentysomethings for shopping in Nike, Top Shop, Primark. There's not many overseas tourists around this year who would normally wander up and down. I used to go there many moons ago but now I'd go to Westfield if I wanted to go clothes shopping. We are making the most of the quieter streets and parks.

I’m in London - nearly all my circle are avoiding tube like the plague (because of the, er, Plague)... so no way to get into C London even if wanted to (its £15 congestion charge to drive in, then parking costs on top).

Wondering if the lithe youngsters you saw wandering about college students off for the summer?

It wasn’t just the shops, it was also on the tube I saw hardly anyone over 40.